IT'S GOOD NEWS

When your Campaign argues back!

You may or may not be aware that there is a very significant vote taking place in Ireland on the 22nd of May. The Irish have been given the opportunity to decide whether same sex couples should be entitled to the same marriage rights as heterosexuals. But not only will it give the LGBT community equal rights to same sex couples it will also create a fairer and more equal society in Ireland and prove to young LGBT people they are equal…all in all a pretty straightforward yes vote in my opinion!

However, as with any campaign there is always the flip side. The people who are unwilling to embrace any change, and in my opinion in this case unwilling to understand what the referendum is about and what it will mean to the country. A group called Mothers and Fathers is leading the No vote in Ireland and have distributed a number of fliers and posters around the country claiming that children need both a mother and a father to develop fully (because loving parents is just not enough…apparently).

Unfortunately for them their campaign is fighting back. It all started when Jason Manford took to twitter to show his disgust at a poster that stated ‘Children deserve and mother and a father….vote no’. He used the hashtag #ChildrenDeserveLove and urged people to vote yes on May 22nd. Another comedian Adam Hills saw this tweet and realised that the family used on the poster were in fact friends of his wife and were utterly appalled to find out that their image had been used in this way. It was a stock imagery which they had never been paid for. A photographer friend had taken some family photos for them for free, in return they allowed him to upload them to some stock photography sites. Never had they imagined the picture would be used to campaign against something they so strongly believed in.

Adam Hills explained the family’s disgust on Facebook and suddenly this family was fighting for the opposing campaign, making sure everyone knew what their real views were and issuing a full statement and their own poster encouraging people to vote yes. It has taken the issues and the referendum worldwide. People know about the choice Ireland gets to make and the majority is fighting for the yes vote.

This has been a PR disaster for the No campaign that they could never have forseen. Their own campaign poster has effectively come to life and fought back against the outdated views they have been promoting.

I obviously no longer live in Ireland so don’t have a vote there anymore. But if I did I would definitely be voting YES! All love is equal and everyone should be allowed to express that love in whatever way they choose. #VoteYes

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